I’m hardly doing anything now, but today hopped on the trainer for a nice 30 minute spin. I’ve NEVER put the pedal to the medal before to see what I could really do. I train only V02 or less and probably 95% of the time or more at T or less.
I tried to touch 1000 today and wow…ouch. I hit 905 once and I swear I’m as crushed now as I am after a full on 2 x 20 workout. I did 4 hard sprints that lasted maybe 10 seconds total including wind up and wind down.
I weigh about 155. I’m a puss.
clip in your other shoe…duh
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Looking at my power curve on golden cheetah, looks like I max out at about 1000 watts. I did that going for a sprint point during a group ride I started doing over the summer. Prior to starting group riding, I don’t think I ever even tried to see what I’d max out at. I suspect doing I’d have a hard time hitting 1000 on the trainer; the motivation isn’t quite the same. I suspect it would be quite trainable, I kinda wonder how much better I’d get if I did some focused work on it. Maybe I could become a cat4 roadie instead of cat5 
Try it outside. I’ve hit 1000+ watts on group rides, but I’ve never come close to that on a trainer because the tire always slips. I weigh the same as you and I wouldn’t consider myself a strong cyclist.
Cue the ‘1000W is nothing’ ST chorus.
Hell, I throw down at least a kilowatt or two just heading down my driveway to get the paper.
Only hit 1k once at a dead sprint on the roads. Never gotten over 700 on the trainer.
But yeah… it’s no joke.
Only way I can hit 1000+ watts is outdoors, on a small incline, on a road bike, out of the saddle, during a full on sprint where my bike is being thrown side to side. Usually lasts about 1-3 seconds.
Heck, I hit 1.21 jigawatts a couple weeks ago on the trainer and sent Marty back to 1954…
For anyone who thinks 1000 watts is nothing, I would certainly beg to differ. I used to train with road pros, and I think 1000W is still something that shows a damn solid effort. The Manx Missile averages about 1200W in a winning sprint I read somewhere (IIRC), so 1K is nothing to scoff at.
Heck, I hit 1.21 jigawatts a couple weeks ago on the trainer and sent Marty back to 1954…
win!
Try it outside. I’ve hit 1000+ watts on group rides, but I’ve never come close to that on a trainer because the tire always slips. I weigh the same as you and I wouldn’t consider myself a strong cyclist.
+1
and besides, this is the slowtwitch forum. While having a high neuromuscular power shouldn’t be mutually exclusive with having a high aerobic power (someone correct me if i’m wrong), many here probably don’t do nearly enough sprinting drills and the such.
it’s amazing how big-gear work and lifting helps with sprinting wattage (at least for me). Last year, my 1s peak on any given day was in the low 800’s. This year, i’m focusing more on sprints as it does me no good in a road race to get over the humps with 8 other people only to get smoked in the sprint. I lifted only a little bit and have been doing big gear stuff at least twice a week. I now easily top 950 on any given day and recently had my highest ever 1s max.
This may be a valid point regarding the slipping. I’d hit about 850 then really pour it on and not gain much for wattage. The tire could have in fact been slipping.
Maybe I’m not such a puss afterall. 
Heck, I hit 1.21 jigawatts a couple weeks ago on the trainer and sent Marty back to 1954…
For anyone who thinks 1000 watts is nothing, I would certainly beg to differ. I used to train with road pros, and I think 1000W is still something that shows a damn solid effort. The Manx Missile averages about 1200W in a winning sprint I read somewhere (IIRC), so 1K is nothing to scoff at.
1200W at the end of a long road race. He most likely can hit a higher number if fresh.
also a big difference between 1200W for 1s and 1200W avg for a 15 second sprint.
+1. I have a pretty good w/kg at 5 minute and threshold. My sprint, though, is absolutely pathetic. 750-800 W is my max.
…many here probably don’t do nearly enough sprinting drills …
guilty as charged. my golden cheetah curve is flat. I do pretty much all FTP work +/- 30%.
I can understand the need for that neuromuscular power if you’re doing crits or bike racing with sprint finishes, but the only bike racing I do is part of tri.
So- if my goals are just getting my FTP as high as I can, without killing my run training. Is there any reason I should be doing more sprinting drills? (I know a fair amount about run training, but pretty much nothing about cycling training- but I’m learning)
Doing high watt jumps on the trainer is next to impossible. I’ve hit 1050 for 5 sec in the initial jump of an attack during a crit, but there’s next to no way I could do that on the trainer. I think a lot of it has to do with the lack of side-to-side motion on the trainer. That’s my theory anyway.
1200W at the end of a long road race. He most likely can hit a higher number if fresh.
also a big difference between 1200W for 1s and 1200W avg for a 15 second sprint.
He’s also a very small guy.
Cue the ‘1000W is nothing’ ST chorus.
Hell, I throw down at least a kilowatt or two just heading down my driveway to get the paper.
I’m one of those Kilowatt guys…And for me, it’s not that hard really.
Maxed out at 1593 and have held 1480 for 5 seconds and 980 for 30 seconds.
The hardest crit I ever did had 86 peaks over 800 watts and 30 peaks over 1000 watts…it was for a 45 minute, 8 corner crit. Also consider, I’m a larger rider with a race weight in the low 190’s, though I train almost specifically for TT’s.
This may be a valid point regarding the slipping. I’d hit about 850 then really pour it on and not gain much for wattage. The tire could have in fact been slipping.
Maybe I’m not such a puss afterall.
If the tire slips a fair amount, it often makes some kind of squeal.
Still, it’s definitely harder to do major wattage on a trainer, because of the slippage. However, you still can hit major wattage, as long as you accelerate smoothly - usually a much slower acceleration than you’d do compared to an outdoor sprint finish.
1200W at the end of a long road race. He most likely can hit a higher number if fresh.
also a big difference between 1200W for 1s and 1200W avg for a 15 second sprint.
He’s also a very small guy.
And he gets so low he’s basically trimming his nose hair with the front wheel. I think I read somewhere that his position allows him to beat out guys throwing down 200-300 more watts
I did a few sprint protocols in the lab today. My peak power was 1371 watts. That was a few minutes after 800 watts for 15s. I’m 55 years old and 158 lbs.